This invention relates to apparatus for imprinting money orders, checks, and the like.
Known imprinting apparatus, commonly referred to as check writers or money order printing machines, employ type segments or printing members having printing characters thereon which are independently movable to selectively dispose any of the printing characters on a printing line preparatory to effecting printing on a blank check, money order form or analogous instrument. The blank checks or money order forms in many instances provide for imprinting of the current date and of indicia identifying the source or location of printing such as a Post Office, bank or other source as well as the dollar amount for which the check or money order is written. The date, and the dollar and cents amount are imprinted using the movable type segments whereas a fixed plate bearing indicia identifying the source is used to print that information. Thus, a special plate must be provided for each imprinting machine, and if a given machine is moved to a different location, it must be provided with a new plate bearing the necessary identifying information.
Existing check writing machines imprint the amount for which the money order is issued in conventional arabic characters so as to be easily and readily recognizable by the individual ordering the money order. As a deterrent to alterations of the dollar amount printed on the money order form, a perforating plate or the like is used to provide serrations in the money order form where the dollar amount is printed. Processing these money orders or checks requires manual handling, including manual data entry on keypunching to print the dollar and cents amount on the money order or check in a suitable format for automatic processing by banking institutions, typically by optical character recognition apparatus. Thus, it would be desirable if the information indicating the dollar and cents amount of the money order or check were imprinted on the form both in conventional arabic numerals and in characters which are optically readable by character recognition apparatus.
Moreover, it would be desirable also to have a checkwriter, which produces high quality imprinted documents suitable for use on high speed optical character recognition equipment and which provide security of the imprinted dollar amount that is equal to or better than the standard checkwriter practices acceptable to banking institutions.
A further consideration is that blank instruments of different sizes are frequently used. Also, in the case of money orders, the size of the money order form is changed from time to time. Additionally, it is highly desirable to have the forms be resistant to alternations and tampering while possessing optical character recognition capabilities. Known tamper evident systems have been proposed for negotiable instruments on a layer or coating of micro capsules of ink or pigment material which upon rupture will allow for permeation and lateral migration of the substance into the paper stock. This rupturing process does not restrict the lateral migration of ink nor does it offer a consistent means of a defined detailed image. Moreover, the need to integrate one or more layers of microcapsules into the paper stock or provide a coating on the paper stock adds considerable cost to the form.